Friday, March 14

Twins fans have been hearing about Walker Jenkins since the day he was drafted fifth overall in 2023. They’ve been hearing about Emmanuel Rodriguez for even longer. The club’s third Top 100 overall prospect, however, has had a more recent emergence.

Luke Keaschall, the team’s No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 60 overall, just flat-out hit his way into the Top 100 last year. In a season split between High-A Cedar Rapids and Double-A Wichita, Keaschall posted a .303/.420/.483 line that gets better the more you look at it.

He drew 62 walks against 80 strikeouts. He stole 23 bases in 29 attempts. He was even hit by pitches 18 times. If there’s a way you can help your club on offense, Keaschall did it last year. And while it would be understandable for fans to have missed his ascendance last season, there’s no longer any excuse for not knowing the former second-round pick.

Keaschall is the biggest name on Minnesota’s Spring Breakout roster for Saturday’s game between Twins prospects and Blue Jays prospects, and if his entire history is any indication, he’s going to do something worth seeing on offense.

• More on Spring Breakout 2025

“You’re just trying to become as complete a hitter as you can,” he said, “and fill all the holes, so it makes it that much harder to get you out. Ever since I was a little kid, you just try and find a way to help your team win, get on base, whatever the game asks you to do, you try and do. Try and not overcomplicate it, try and simplify it as much as I can. Do what I can to help the team be successful.”

Keaschall received consecutive starts at designated hitter on Friday and Saturday, and in the latter game he hit his first Grapefruit League home run. And while it’s hard to see how he fits on the Twins’ big league roster at the start of the season, there’s no doubt he’s made a name for himself in camp.

“He’s an exciting player because he’s explosive, he’s a good athlete, and probably most importantly, he swings the bat,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There’s not many guys with that type of combination of ability. This is a simple way of putting it, but if you can really hit, and you can really run, and that’s one guy that’s doing both of those things, you’ve got a chance to be a really productive big leaguer.”

The Twins’ 2025 Spring Breakout game is set for Saturday at 12:07 p.m. CT at TD Ballpark in Dunedin, Fla. More >>

The Twins announced a variety of upgrades and enhancements to Target Field for the new season last week. They include market-style concessions, MLB Go-Ahead Entry, upgraded point-of-sale technology for concession purchases and expanded and upgraded cell service that includes 5G availability.

The most visible will be the market-style concession stands at sections 105 and 109. These are a growing trend at stadiums and arenas, with self-serve purchasing rather than walking up to a counter.

Another noteworthy change is Go-Ahead Entry, a “facial authentication-based ticket validation system” that allows fans to enter the ballpark without even scanning their tickets. It will be available at Gates 3, 6, 29 and 34.

Happy birthday to Twins Hall of Famer Johan Santana, one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history. Santana turns 46 today, assuming you are reading this on Thursday. The left-hander was acquired in a 1999 trade from the Marlins, who selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. In eight seasons in Minnesota, Santana went 93-44 with a 3.22 ERA. He won two AL Cy Young Awards as well as the 2006 AL pitching triple crown.

Let’s just put it on shuffle today and pick out a few highlights:

The White Stripes, “I’m Slowly Turning Into You”

The Cure, “Harold and Joe”

Japandroids, “No Known Drink or Drug”

Led Zeppelin, “Custard Pie”

Aimee Mann, “Ghost World”

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